Current Affairs Quiz-September, 2020

Notes:
The United States of America (USA) has recently revoked the Visas of more than 1,000 Chinese students and researchers.
The move is under the directions of the US President Donald Trump in May 2020. The proclamation is aimed at Chinese nationals who are suspected to have ties with Chinese military. In this regard, China has accused US of racial discrimination.

Notes:
The Pune based SII -Serum Institute of India has paused the clinical trial of COVID vaccine candidate. The vaccine is being developed by Oxford University’s Jenner Institute and Astra Zeneca.
Serum Institute has stopped the trial after a notice from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI). The trials of COVID vaccine were stopped globally after one of the recipients in U.K. showed adverse symptoms.

Notes:
The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Rajasthan government to develop the MSME ecosystem in the state.
This is the initiative of the Department of Industries, Rajasthan to provide financial and technical support to MSMEs in the state. The state has also amended the MSME Act to promote industries and exempt businesses from permissions and inspections for three years.

Notes:
A joint statement has been issued by USA, Israel and Bahrain which states that Israel and Bahrain have agreed to establish full diplomatic ties.
This is an outcome of a normalisation agreement between Israel and Bahrain which comes after a similar agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Earlier, an Israeli delegation was carried in the first direct commercial flight to UAE.

Notes:
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Sameer Kumar Khare as new Executive Director of Asian Development Bank (ADB).
The veteran bureaucrat has been appointed to the post for a tenure of three years. Sameer Kumar is a 1989-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer. He is currently serving as Additional Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs under Ministry of Finance.

Notes:
Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank presented the first ever AICTE-Visvesvaraya Best Teacher Awards 2020.
The award has been conferred to 12 faculty members of AICTE approved institutes on the occasion of Engineers Day. The award has been introduced to identify extraordinary teachers and recognize their best practice in the field of higher technical education.

Notes:
Indian-American filmmaker Mira Nair has recently received the Jeff Skoll Award for Impact Media at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Nair was one of the six recipients of the TIFF Tribute Awards ceremony along with veteran actor Sir Anthony Hopkins, Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet among others. The presentation of the award to Nair was initiated by Tabu, star of Mira’s television series ‘A Suitable Boy’.

Notes:
Tata Projects Limited has won the contract bid to construct the new Parliament building.
The construction of the parliament building is a part of the Central Vista redevelopment project. The Central Vista redevelopment project consists of a triangular Parliament building, a common central secretariat and revamping of the 3 km-long Rajpath. Tata Projects Ltd had submitted a bid of Rs 861.90 crore.

Notes:
Proposals for the National Highways Excellence Awards 2020 have been invited by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
The award was first instituted in 2018 and is conferred to companies that are performing exceptionally well in the construction, operations, maintenance of highways. The awards are given every year in seven categories.

Notes:
Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport has recenlty opened India’s first ever exclusive private jet terminal, for ultra-rich population.
The new terminal will allow movement of 150 jets daily and it will be able to handle over 50 passengers per hour. This new terminal will promote safety of the passengers and the business jets can function as Air ambulances in emergency.